Can the Hebrew word בְּהֵמָה refer to both wild and domestic animals at the same time?

Question

In Genesis 6:20 we read that God told Noah to keep three categories of animals

1. Flying creatures
2. Animals
3. Creeping things

What confuses me is the word בְּהֵמָה translated as "animals." Lexicon says that it is usually in reference to domesticated animals and sometimes of wild animals but does not say about being able to reference both at the same time. My question as I stated, can בְּהֵמָה refer to wild and domesticated animals or can it only refer to one of them?

Answer 1

The pertinent word in Gen 6:20 is בְּהֵמָה (behemah) whose BDB entry is given below in the appendix.

Note that this word can (and often does) refer to domesticated cattle, but also wild animals, and also almost any animal other than humans. It can refer to both clean and unclean animals as well.

More specifically, the word can mean:

• animals or beasts in general, Ex 9:9, 1 Kings 4:33, etc
• wild animals and beasts of the earth, Deut 28:26, 32:24, 1 Sam 17:44
• cattle or livestock, NIV, NASB, Gen 1:24-26, 2:20, 8:1, 47:18
• beasts of burden or for riding, Neh 2:12, 14

Thus, Gen 6:20 probably refers to animals most generally and of all kinds.

APPENDIX - BDB entry for בְּהֵמָה (behemah)

187 noun feminine beast, animal, cattle (Arabic ) — ׳בּ Genesis 1:24 137t.; construct בֶּהֱמַת Numbers 3:41 (twice in verse) + 10 t.; suffix בְּהֶמְתְּךָ Leviticus 19:19 4t.; בְּהֶמְתֶּ֑ךָ Exodus 20:10 4t.; בְּהֶמְתּוֺ Genesis 36:6; Proverbs 12:10; plural absolute בְּהֵמוֺת Deuteronomy 32:24 6t. + Psalm 73:22 (see below); construct בַּהֲמוֺת Psalm 8:8 5t.; — beast, & collective beasts (Genesis 8:1 + very often)

1. of living creatures other than man (אָדָם) Genesis 8:1; Exodus 8:13; Exodus 8:14; Exodus 9:9,10,22; Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 18:23 (twice in verse) (where ׳בּ is male, so Leviticus 20:16) Deuteronomy 27:21; Psalm 36:7 etc.; ׳מֵאָדָם וְעַד בּ (׳בּ including all the larger animals) Exodus 9:25; Exodus 12:12; Psalm 135:8; Jeremiah 50:3 etc.; as inferior to man Job 18:3; Psalm 49:13; Psalm 49:21, so also Ecclesiastes 3:18,19 (twice in verse); Ecclesiastes 3:21; opposed to also birds & reptiles Genesis 6:7; Genesis 7:23; Genesis 8:17 compare Ezekiel 44:31 etc.; also to fishes 1 Kings 5:13; Job 12:7 compare Job 12:8, Psalm 8:9; Zephaniah 1:3.

2. opposed to also to wild beasts חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ, הַשָּׂדֶה ׳ח Genesis 1:24,25,26; Genesis 2:20; Genesis 3:14; Genesis 7:14,21; Genesis 9:10; Psalm 50:10; Psalm 148:10; Isaiah 46:1 etc.; especially therefore cattle, as owned and used by man, Genesis 47:18 (׳מִקְנֵה הַבּ) Exodus 20:10 = Deuteronomy 5:14; Leviticus 19:19; Leviticus 26:22; Numbers 3:41 (twice in verse); Numbers 3:45 (twice in verse); Deuteronomy 2:35; Deuteronomy 11:15; Jonah 4:11; Zechariah 2:8; Zechariah 8:10; Zechariah 14:15; Ezra 1:4,6; Nehemiah 9:37; Nehemiah 10:37 etc.; in one (late) passage of animal for riding (horse ? mule ?) Nehemiah 2:12 (twice in verse); Nehemiah 2:14.

3. rarely of wild beasts, especially carnivora, יַעַר ׳בּ Micah 5:7; הָאָרֶץ ׳בּ Deuteronomy 28:26; Isaiah 18:6 (twice in verse); Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 15:3; Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 19:7; Jeremiah 34:20; הַשָּׂדֶה ׳בּ 1 Samuel 17:44; alone, Proverbs 30:30; שֶׁןבְּֿהֵמוֺת Deuteronomy 32:24; ׳שֹׁד בּ Habakkuk 2:17.